Medical protocol

Medical protocol can refer to:

• medical guidelines for a medical treatment. It usually includes a treatment plan, summarized consensus statements and addresses practical issues.

• Clinical protocol, which has a more specific meaning. It describes a method to be used in a clinical trial (e.g. of a drug or medical treatment) or a medical research study.

• A set of rules followed by providers such as EMTs or nurses. Often considered to be stricter than a guideline, and to carry more weight with the law, but there is no hard evidence to support this view and the terms are usually used interchangeably.